Open discussion about developments in cultural property, heritage, and repatriation.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

So it looks like Cleveland gets to see the Sicily Exhibit

After weeks of dispute and anger over Sicily's decision to end the traveling exhibition of its antiquities, which were scheduled to arrive at the Cleveland Museum of Art, it appears that Cleveland will get its chance to display the collection.

Behind the scenes both parties negotiated the fate of the exhibition, and I must say I am thrilled! Negotiation, I said this is key to resolving disputes between countries and museums, and it appears that this time is no different. The negotiations not only included the museum and Sicily, but also US and Italian diplomats.

The exhibition is set to open on September 29th, 2013.

As part of the agreement, the museum will return a piece of art called "The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew" by Caravaggio, which the museum had on loan for a few years. This will hopefully settle the costs the museum would have incurred if Sicily put more demand on the museum. Sicily argued that it needed its art returned to help support its dwindling tourism market.